JulesP

mmmmm that first run of the day after weeks/months of not seeing sheep - always interesting

Not cheap! I've used the Barf ones once and they were the most disgusting things to feed Sloppy, stinky things. Much prefer to make my own up as per the books.

Great news! He is very cute.

Oh well you guys all missed Steven Tyler singing with an amazing 15yo girl. Totally brilliant. Not sure I would be asking any vet about puppy training etc.

I'm voting for dark green for Bubby My sable border collie caused me a bit of angst with her lead collar. Everything seemed to clash with her coat Got a dark rusty orange lead in the end that looks nice. Just thought of this option for Bubby - denim & red! http://www.doog.com.au/process/shop/produc...ml?itemId=28914 You can buy the matching bum bag!!! You might like their brown & pink spotted collar too.

Well done RS Great job!

I don't apologize to people any more if Poppy snaps at their dog catherine.b. It does usually mean that their dog got in her personal space and was rude. She doesn't go looking for trouble. She never connects when she snaps btw.

My club does the yellow bandanna too. Also if a dog does a runner it is not allowed off lead for 4 weeks. That rule does tend to make some people hesitate when they know their dog is a bit dodgy. Rather than tethering your dog to a pole could you put him in a crate? I wouldn't tie my touchy girl up, not worth the stress.

It isn't you. Some people are just dumb.

They all look lovely. Sorry to hear that Kirra has had some problems after the hail incident. I've thought about her as I haven't seen them at Croydon since.

I got Border Collies because I liked them. I do sports mainly to keep them entertained All of my dogs have been chosen as pets not on any potential sporting ability. I have a play and see if they like a sport, if they don't then I don't care. Poppy was pretty good at agility but I didn't feel her heart was in it, not like obedience. And herding is her absolute fav thing in the world. Brock is a big sooky boy and his fav thing is smooching people. He had fun doing agility, I might take him back this year. He is really too slow to compete though. I would always get the dog I liked rather than one to do the sport. ETA: I originally went down to obedience training because my Mum had always taken the family dogs down to training, so it was just something that you did.

Can someone tell me how the seating works? Are we allocated tables? If I go I don't think I will know anyone which is scary but I would like to support it.

I'm in the don't holiday camp. There is always so much to do here and here is so nice that I tend to have hols at home. I thought about it at Xmas time but any of the places I could have taken the dogs wouldn't have been much more holiday then being at home. One dog to take away would be a heap less stress then 3 too. Mine are really well behaved but it is still a bit of a military operation!

Super cute! ;) That is how my guys play too - wrestling rather than running around. Brock and Poppy do tag team for Amber , sometimes it is so obvious when they look at each other and say 'your turn now'!

;)

Whilst my dogs don't spend their whole time running around they do seem to enjoy the garden. They better, I just paid $500 to get it mowed for them ;)

I am quite concerned about this as i will be moving from acreage with no neighbors to a smaller (still pretty big) block with I assume some neighbors. I am worried the dogs will bark at the neighbors as at the moment anyone they see from their garden should be barked at as they are on my land. I assume they will adapt fairly quickly but think it will be ugly for a while.

For an emergency stop I prefer to use the position that the dog prefers ie sit, stand, drop. For my dogs it is drop. When I am starting distance work I reward in position. If you are rewarding when he gets to you then you are rewarding the recall. I start a couple of steps away and slowly go backwards. I toss the food usually too rather then going back to the dog. I also ask the dogs to drop whilst playing in the garden. They think it is a great game. To stop them on the spot I will chuck in a wait before the drop command. This seems to stop the paws and gives them the idea to drop there rather then coming to me and dropping. I am usually giving lots of verbal encouragement too. I don't use food rewards at all for this. Because I usually don't have any!

Omegas obviously come from different substances. Not all Omegas are equal :D After fish oil flaxseed is a brilliant source of omega oil. So have a look at what the oil source was in the previous foods you were feeding.

How do they organize the tables? Do they put DOL people on the same tables? I just looked up the accommodation at the place and they are already booked out for that night!

I take my dogs home too usually if I need to go into a shop. Brocky came into a come of real estate agents with me the other day though as I had taken him out for a walk and wanted to check out the housing options. I just said 'Sorry it has got too hot to leave him in the car'. They all probably think I am a nutty dog woman but care factor of zero on that! It is a pain in the arse taking them home as I don't live in the suburbs but have read too many stories to risk heat stroke with my kids.

Can you do a left turn with Gilbert Cosmolo? That is usually a good way of telling if the dog is too far in front when you are by yourself. Too far in front and you just can't turn sharply. A dog with super rear end awareness might be able to get out the way but usually it is 'shit my dog is in the way'.

What about using a carport? It may end up being cheap then getting something custom made. If it overlaps the runs on the back and sides you might not need sides/backs either. My run is sitting up a roofed pergola and stays nice and dry.

I did 10+ years on horse club committees. Helping at shows etc. Reached burn out there. There was never enough people to help out/ Same people year after year had to do it. My dog club is a big club. They don't seem to struggle to get people to help. I've taught now for about 4 years pretty much every weekend and helped at comps. Have just about reached burn out there. I have never been a big competitor either. Would have helped out far more then I have competed.

Yep and I hate it!!!! - so I start work on it early because all mine did it as youngsters. Its like lazy puppy sits and its almost like you have to develop the back muscles to help them sit straight for long periods. I particularly hate it when instructors show you how to do the walking back, sitting straight thing like you have never heard it before! My borders do the lazy sit so quickly that you really can't catch it before they have done it. It is looking good, yeah sitting straight, slump! They seem to do it about an inch off the floor. Amber has been the worse. She had me freaked out about HD for a while!